Slat-and-wire-fencing machine



2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

- (No Model.)

B. HOOVER. SLAT AND WIRE EENOING MACHINE.

No. 446,255. Patented Peb'. 10, 1891.

l/VVEIVTOH ZzeuZer'z 1700067".-

. H ATTORNEYS.

(No Model.)

R. HOOVER.

2 Sheets -Shet 2. v

SLAT AND WIRE FENCING MACHINE.

Patented Feb. 10, 1891.

WITNESSES. I Wfl Qg M me Nnnms varsns 00., Panto-mum, WASNWRYON, u. c.

llVVE/VTOR fimZenjfaaverx ,UNITED ST TES ATENT OrrrcE,

REUBEN noovna, or BOONE, iowA.

SLAT-AND-WlRE-FENCING MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 446,255, dated February10, 1891. Application filed September 3, 1890. Serial No. 363,800. (Nomodel.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, REUBEN HOOVER, a citi: zen of the United States,residing at Boone, in the county of Boone and State of Iowa, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Slat-and-lVire-FencingMachines; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, andexact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilledin the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to machines for making wire-and-wood fencing, andhas for its object the provision of a loom that will weave any number ofdouble strands up to six, so that the roll after it is woven can besawed in two in the middle and have each half with three double strandson it to be used to'fence hog-lots, thus weaving it twice as fast as isgenerally done where the pickets are first cut short and woven into thethree strands separately, thus making half of the fence in the same timeonly.

The principal feature of my loom, distinguishing it from others,consists in a movable head-block or frame in which are arranged thespools or pulleys that twist the wires. This movable head-block can bemoved forward by a foot-lever with great force, so as to drive thepicket tight in between the spread wires and hold it there at the willof the op erator, so. that the twisting of the wires is commenced closeup to the picket, thus causing the wires to cut into the corners-of thepickets and hold them so tightly that they cannot be removed withoutfirst breaking them into pieces. Now as the twisting of the wiresproceeds the twistforces the head-block back, and this can be controlledby the operator of the foot-lever, so as to cause it to twist verytightly or loosely, or very tightly on the first half-twist so as to cutinto the picket, and then loosely during the twisting of the center orspace between the pickets, and then tightly on the last half-twist tomake a proper square opening for the next picket to be forced into.

The improvement further consists in having a measuring-roller on whichare located bands of iron or wood with a raised center to keep the twowires apart and to prevent them for two wires which feed the sametwisterspool. These rings, being either rigged or turned onto the shafton which they are located, cause any detention or strain that may bemade by a full spool to be communicated to the whole shaft, therebydistributing the strain on all the wires, thus increasing or diminishingthe tension in all the wires and cansing them to all be woven in underthe same strain at any given point in the fence, and perfectlyequalizing the strain, thus greatly increasing the strength of the fenceas well as causing all the wires to twist uniformly. Again, uniformityof tension is a necessity throughout the whole length of the fence, andis interfered with when the spools are full, as the tension on the wireswill be increased over the tension on the wires when the spools arenearly empty, in that they turn so much more readily. This I obviate bymeans of two fiat pieces of iron laid on each other with a wooden barunder them, and holes with bolts passing up through them between eachtwo wires exactly back of the annular ridges on the separating-shaft.The wires pass through between these flat irons and immediately underthe nuts on the said bolts. Now, if the nuts be screwed down equally, itwill make equal tension on all; but if not it is equalized by therollers that measure the wire onto the machine. Now, to obviate thedifficulty of the unevenness of wire or kinks in it that would not passbetween two rigidlyset pieces of iron, I put a rubber washer under thenuts on the bolts passing through these irons and causing the tension,and thus have a slightly self-adj usting tension for each two wires. Thefoot-lever is changeable, so that it can be operated from either side ofthe machine, thus making it possible for one person to run the machineand do his own feeding of pickets; but it is advisable for two tooperate it, as there is great gain by the division of work andconsequent increase of speed.

The improvement consists in the novel features and the peculiarconstruction and com- "gage with the said heads and with ahorizonlooking in the direction of the arrow. Fig.3

is a cross-section on the line Y Y of Fig. 1, looking to the left. Fig.4 is a detail view of the mechanism for operating the head, which isprovided with the Wire-twisting devices. Fig. 5 is aside elevationof'the machine.

Fig. 6 is a detail View of one end of the ten-- sion mechanism. Fig. 7is a cross-sectionot the tension device on the line Z Z of Fig. 6. Fig.8 is a cross-section on the line 8 S of Fig. 2, looking to the right.Fig. 9 is a detail sectioh of the annular ribbedring for spacing theparallel wires which form a cable. Fig.

10 is a longitudinal section of one of the twistin devices.

The frame A of the machine may be of any well known construction, and isadapted to supportthe operating parts.

The head B, provided with the wire-twisting mechanism, is mounted onways on the frame and is operated by any suitable means from the treadleor foot-lever O. The shaft D i's'provided with vertical arms (1, whichental arm d, which is connected by a rod 0 with the treadle orfoot-lever O. \Vhen the lever or treadle O is pressed upon, the shaft Dis turned on its axis, and the arms (1, which engage with the head B,effect a forward movement of the said head for the purpose hereinbeforespecified. The head B is composed of side bars Z2 and end pieces I). Thetwisting-heads E arejournaled in the side bars I) and are connected soas to operate simulta neously, preferably by being geared with the shaftF, which is journaled at its ends in the end pieces I). The'gearingfound to give the best results, combined with simplicity and economy ofconstruction, is an endless band orcord, which takes several turnsaround the shaft F and around the twisting heads. This shaft F is turnedby means of the crank j, which is applied to its outer end.

with a picket-supporting barb which,besides forming a rest for thepicket,also serves to The bar 19 is is returned to an operativeposition, and the spacers S S projected across the path of the picket bythe spring 77., which is interposed between the levern and a verticalpost of the frame.

The spindle I, on which the completed fence is wound, is journaled atits ends to the frame and is provided at one end with means for rotatingit on its axis to wind the fence thereon. The ratchet-wheel i at the endof the spindle is operated on by the alternately-actuated pawls t",which are pivotally connected with the lever The stop 2', projected fromthe frame, limits the movement of the lever F. The spindle I being lowerthan the head 13, the fencing is deflected between the said head and thespindle and passes over the guide or fending roller i The fencing issupported between the guide-roller 71 and the spacing devices on therest J, which comprises cross-barsj and short bars j,extending in thedirection of the length of the fence.

The reel-frame K is preferably independent of the frame A, being securedto the floor or otherwise supported in position. The reels of wire L aresuitably mounted on the frame K, so as to turn freely and not interferewith one another. The tension contrivance M comprises the beam 071., themetal plates m, the rubber or other elastic washers m the bolts mpassing through beam on, plates m, and washers m and the adjustingnuts mmounted. on the bolts m. The wires Z pass between the plates on, andthrough guides m on the beam 012, and through 'correspondin g guides 01on the beamN. Between the beams N' and m is journaled the shaft 0, whichis provided with metal or wooden bands b,'that have annular ridges 0'.The wires Z pass once around these bands, and the two wires which'com'pose'each cable are disposed one on each side of the annular ridges0, which keep them separated.

The purpose of the shaft 0 is to'control the movement of the wires andcause them to feed alike, thereby insuring the production of apractically straight fence. The wires take one complete turn around theshaft 0, this being sufficient to get the required tension or frictionbetween the shaft and the The head B is provided on its front sidewiresto cause the'latter to feed alike when the shaft 0 rotates, which latteris effected when winding up the completed fence, which draws the wiresforward.

' It will be observed that the head' B is pushed back by the tension onthe wires during the twisting process, the closeness ofthe twist beingregulated by the degree of resistance offered by the head caused by theWork man pressing more or less on thefoot-lever O. The headis carriedforward, after each picket has'been bound in, by pressing on the outerend of the lever O.

The operation of the invention is manifest to one skilled in the art towhich this invention appertains from the detailed description in thestatement of the object of the invention. Hence a further description isdeemed unnecessary.

Having thus described my invention, What I claim, and desire to secureby Letters Pat- 'ent, is

1. In a fence-machine, the combination, with the head provided with theWiretWisting mechanism and having the picket-supporting bar I) and thestop I) at the end of the said bar b and means for moving the said headhorizontally, of the spacers 8 in front of and independent of the saidhead, and means for operating the said spacers to project them in andout of the path of the completed fence, substantially as and for thepurpose described.

2. In a fence-machine, the combination of the Wire-twisting mechanism,-the tension device M, having guides m the beam N, parallel with thetension device M and having guides 71, which correspond with the guidesm, the shaft 0 between the tension device M and the beam N, and themetal bands 0 on' the shaft 0, having the ridges 0' in line with theguides m and at, substantially as described, for the purpose specified.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

REUBEN HOOVER.

Witnesses:

W. S. BIOKSLER, J. H. SMULLIN.

